Patience
by denise1
Summary: Patience may be a virtue, but it can also get you killed


Patience

By

Denise

Friday

Major Samantha Carter took a measurement off the alien machine on the table in front of her, then picked up the pen to write it down. She stopped and sighed as she realized she'd done it already…twice.

She tossed the pen down, crossed her arms on the desk, and dropped her head onto them. What the heck was she doing? Raising her head she scanned her lab counting all the items on the shelves. Eight. She had eight things waiting for her to figure out exactly what they were, and she couldn't even take measurements without messing them up.

Sam reburied her head and closed her eyes, feeling the all too familiar twinges of a tension headache. She should go grab a bite in the commissary and take a nap. Maybe sleep and blood sugar would help her concentrate.

No. Blood sugar had nothing to do with it. Her life had everything to do with it. She wanted to rewind the world a few weeks and start over. Go all the way back and tell Anise what she could do with those damned armbands. Then there'd have been no mission to blow up Apophis' ship, no near-death experience, no Zatarc scare, and best of all no grudging, embarrassing confessions.

Things could go back to the way they were when they were the four musketeers, not the three musketeers and 'the girl'. Back before she felt she had to watch every word or make sure she and the Colonel were never alone. Back before she felt Janet, Daniel, and Teal'c were watching every move they made.

Back to that nice comfortable friendship they had before…before it all went to hell.

"Sam? You ok?" She looked up to see Daniel and Colonel O'Neill standing in the doorway to her lab.

"Fine. Just tired," she replied, sitting up self-consciously.

"Not too tired to come tonight?" Daniel asked, stepping into the room.

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. Jack rented Gladiator. We're going to watch it."

Sam looked from Daniel to a clearly uncomfortable colonel. This was the first she'd heard of it. And it wasn't the first time. He was playing the distance game too.

"Aah no. I can't. The general wants the data from this by morning," she said making a vague motion at the device in front of her. Actually she doubted the man really cared unless it could destroy the base or solve world hunger, but it was as good an excuse as she could come up with.

"Tell him to wait. He can't expect you to work fifteen hours a day."

"Technically, he can. Look, I'm almost done then I have a date with a bubble bath and a book. Some other time?"  She asked, knowing some other time might be months away.

"Ooh. Ok," Daniel gave in grudgingly. "I need to grab something. I'll meet you up top," he said to Jack who nodded as he walked by.

The colonel waited until Daniel left the room then turned back to Sam. "You** are **welcome to come. I just thought…" He made a vague gesture with his hand.

"It's ok, sir. I do need to get this done."

"Ok," he relented. "Just…go home sometime tonight. Better yet, things are slow, take a few days off."

"I can't just drop everything and go off…"

"Why not for cryin out loud? Carter, you've got more leave time hoarded than half the people on this base. Use some of it. Go visit your brother or Jacob. Take some time off and relax."

"I am relaxed," she protested.

"Yeah. So relaxed you're napping on your desk."

"I was resting my eyes."

"Whatever. Look. Take some time before someone tells Fraiser how long it's been and she makes you stand down," he threatened.

Sam bristled at his tone. "Colonel. With all due respect, has my work suffered?" she asked trying to keep the pique out of her voice.

"NO!" He said sharply. "No," he continued softer. "Believe it or not, I used to do the whole work-a-holic gig. I know what it can to do a person." He stopped and sighed. "I'm not going to make you just…take some time. The weather's supposed to be beautiful this weekend. Get out and enjoy it. I'll clear it with Hammond."

"Colonel, I don't need…"

"Carter. Everyone needs time off. Even you," he shot over his shoulder as he left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Monday

"Excuse me, sir." Jack looked up to see Sergeant Siler standing at the door to his office.

"Yeah, sergeant. What do you need? I changed that bulb myself," he said pointing at the wall fixture.

"No, sir. Do you know where Major Carter is?"

"In her lab I'd guess. Why?" Jack asked distractedly. Where was that requisition he needed to fill out for Teal'c to get more candles?

"No, sir. She's not there. Hasn't been in all day," Siler reported.

Jack looked at his watch. Noon. She was usually in at the crack of dawn unless they'd gotten back from a mission late. He thought back to their last conversation and mentally slapped his forehead. "I told her to take some time off. She must have taken me up on it. I'll do the paperwork."

"Aah, sir. What do you want me to do with this?" Siler held out a small box.

Jack took it from him. "What is it?"

The engineer shrugged. "I'm not sure, sir. Parts for something she's working on I guess." Actually the man recognized the return address. It was a part she'd been waiting on for her bike. But he wasn't going to tell the colonel that. The less people who knew about the Cherry Red Indian in the room on level 25 the better.

"I'll hang on to it. Thank you, sergeant." Jack set the package aside and the man left the room.

He dug in his desk for the proper forms. If he'd actually gotten her to listen to him and taken some time off, the least he could do was keep her out of trouble.

Little did he realize, he was already too late.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Monday

The heavy rumble of a passing truck roused Sam from her slumber. For a brief second she thought maybe it was the garbage truck making it's usual early morning run. Then she heard the gurgling of the stream and felt the tug of a seatbelt at her waist.

With a resigned sigh she opened her eyes to see the all too familiar view that had been her sole entertainment for the last two days. Under different circumstances it could be called enjoyable, picturesque even.

The clear water of the waterway bubbled happily over the stones of its rocky bed. Thanks to a wet winter and spring the trees were lush and green, their leaves as much a barrier to the sound of the highway and road a few hundred yards away as to the bright May sunshine. The streambed was heavily shadowed and would be a perfect refuge on a hot summer's day.

Unfortunately, she had a bad feeling this idyllic setting was going to be a death trap.

She shifted slightly, trying to find a comfortable position though she knew it didn't exist. She'd already tried every conceivable position she could given the fact that her seatbelt was jammed and her right leg was painfully pinned between the steering column and the console of her now-totaled car.

Biting her lip, she tried to wiggle her toes, relieved that she could at least still feel them. So her leg had to be mostly intact anyway.

Bracing her arms against the steering wheel that was now way too close, she tried again to pull her leg out of the vise it was in.

She gritted her teeth against the pain and pulled harder. Just as she felt her vision start to gray out she stopped and crossed her arms over the steering wheel burying her face in them. It was no use. Short of cutting her leg off or materializing the Jaws of Life out of thin air she was stuck, her leg jammed in too tightly and too swollen to budge.

At least her headache was starting to fade. When she'd careened down the embankment she'd hit her head and chest on the steering wheel. She'd woken up to the itching trickle of blood seeping down the side of her head and her ribs were more than a little sore, but nothing seemed broken. In fact, she'd come out of the whole 'crashing your car' thing pretty well…despite being trapped in the vehicle all weekend.

She settled back in the seat and closed her eyes, flashing back to what had gotten her in this mess in the first place.

It had been about an hour after the Colonel had left Friday night when she'd finally conceded she wasn't accomplishing anything and left.

After signing out, she'd gotten in her car and paid scant attention to the road. After driving the same route for years she was certainly familiar with it, and the only traffic on the road between the base and the highway was the personnel at the SGC or NORAD so it was relatively light.

What she hadn't been expecting, however, was the large deer that dashed out in front of her playing a bit of Bambi Chicken.

She'd instinctively swerved to avoid hitting the animal and instead careened off the road, coming to rest in the bottom of a gully she'd not even known had been there. The front end of her car was neatly folded in and bits of broken glass decorated the crumpled dash of the vehicle.

Shaking with adrenaline and stunned she'd waited patiently for help to arrive. It hadn't.

She'd tried honking the horn but the battery must have been damaged because the whole car was dead. Mid-morning Saturday, she'd tried yelling at passing cars, but the same leaves which sheltered her from the sun also muffled her voice enough that no one could hear her.

Her car was firmly ensconced in the streambed, the water mercifully just high enough to brush the bottom of the car. Which meant she was dry but more than a little chilled due to sixty-degree nights and a broken windshield and driver's window that were no longer a barrier to the chill air.

She reached unerringly for her cell phone and flipped it open. The batteries were just as dead as they'd been when she'd first tried it. If she just had the Professor and some coconuts she could recharge it. Or naquadah in her pocket. That would work too. She flipped it shut and let it slide from her fingers to the floor.

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the rumbling from her stomach as tears threatened. She reached over and picked up a bottle of water she'd fortunately had with her and took a sip. She opened her eyes and measured the contents. It had only been half full to begin with and was now less than half that. It wasn't enough. Even a sip at a time it would be gone by morning.

God she hated being helpless. This was almost as bad as Jolinar. At least the Tok'ra had tried to talk to her. She took some deep breaths and tried to squash the tears. She was already dehydrated and the last thing she needed was to waste precious fluid on useless tears.

They'd find her soon. Technically she was AWOL and despite how things had been lately surely someone would notice.

All she had to do was be patient a little longer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tuesday

"Enter."

Jack walked into General Hammond's office and at the man's gesture took a seat.

"Morning, Jack. How are you?"

"Fine, sir."

"Good. We just got MALP telemetry back on P3X291," he said handing the colonel a folder. "No naquadah, but some promising readings on other minerals."

Jack flipped through the few sheets of paper inside, translating the scientific shorthand into English. "Looks like a nice boring mission sir."

"Which begs the question. When is Major Carter due back? You were rather vague in your request," George said holding up the form Jack had hurriedly filled out just the day before.

"Ooh," Jack said sheepishly. "I aah…well I sorta…I didn't quite get the dates from her on Friday."

George nodded knowingly and handed the paper to Jack. "You might want to confirm just how much of her leave she is using. If for no other reason than to know how long to assign a replacement," he chided gently.

"Yes, sir," Jack said getting to his feet and leaving the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tuesday

Sam opened her eyes and stiffly uncrossed her arms from across her chest shivering slightly as the damp material of her fatigues came into contact with her skin.

The first glints of sunlight illuminated the drops of dew hanging from the frame of the broken windshield. She carefully held out her hand and caught the drops, licking the miniscule bit of moisture off her fingertips. It barely moistened her mouth.

She couldn't wait. Not any longer. She hadn't had anything to eat and little to drink since Friday night. Despite her rationing, she had emptied the plastic bottle of water late last night. She knew if she didn't get out of here soon, she wasn't going to get out.

Feeling along the dashboard with sore fingers, she found a couple of pieces of the shattered windshield. The safety glass had broken into one loose sheet, just as it was designed to but some of the pieces had broken loose and glittered in the sun like cheap costume diamonds.

They weren't incredibly sharp but given that her nice razor sharp knife was stored neatly in the armory, she didn't have a choice.

She wrapped the shard of glass with a torn bit of her T-shirt and started again sawing her way through the jammed seatbelt. She'd spent hours yesterday and knew it would take her hours more, but she'd eventually cut through it.

The real question was how she was going to free her leg? The only options she could think of were ones she wasn't ready to contemplate. Not yet.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Daniel?" Jack said, striding into his friend's office. "I need your help."

The archaeologist looked up surprised. It was rare that Jack O'Neill used the words need and help in the same sentence. "You heard from Carter lately?" he asked, stopping beside him.

"Umm…not since Friday. Why?"

Jack frowned. "After you left I suggested…well sorta told her to take time off. Then when I came back Monday she wasn't here so I figured she'd taken the time, but I've been trying to call her at home all day to see when she's coming back, and all I get is the machine. I thought maybe she might have said something to you."

Daniel shook his head. "Nothing. Have you asked Janet?"

"Yeah. And she hasn't heard anything either. Which is odd."

Daniel looked at his friend's face and saw that he really was concerned. A feeling that he was starting to share. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a key. "We could check her house," he suggested.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With one final tug the last fibers of the seatbelt gave and Sam slumped in relief, massaging her aching right hand. It had literally taken her all day to saw through the densely woven material.

She tiredly tugged the seatbelt free. Now. Now was the part she hadn't been looking forward to. Freeing her leg.

She awkwardly bent around the steering wheel biting her lip as her ribs reminded her that bending wasn't a good idea right now. She felt around her swollen leg, trying to move something, anything. But the hardened plastic and metal wouldn't budge. Not with bare hands. _Now if she had a pry bar she could…if she could get at it with a pry bar she wouldn't be stuck, now would she?_

Realizing there was only one way she sat back up. She braced herself against the steering wheel, as it was the only leverage she had and gave a couple of experimental tugs.

Getting her leg free wasn't going to be easy, and most likely was going to do it some real damage, but…if she didn't get un-stuck her car was going to be a coffin.

Taking a couple of deep breaths she pulled up her left leg and placed her foot against the dash. She slowly and steadily started to pull on her right leg.

Immediately pain began to lance up the limb. She ignored it and kept pulling harder and harder, her breathing getting harsh and rasped.

She gritted her teeth and gave it one hard pull. With a strangled cry her body decided it'd had enough and she slumped over, knocking the plastic bottle to the floor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel took the steps up to Sam's porch two at a time and dug the key out of his pocket. Jack followed him, giving a glance over his shoulder at the darkening sky. Looked like the rain the forecasters had been promising really was going to happen.

As Daniel worked the lock, Jack eyed his surroundings with a critical eye. There were no newspapers lying uncollected, but that didn't mean much. She might have stopped them or settled for hitting the newsstands like he did. The side trip in the morning to a convenience store was a small price to pay for not having days or weeks worth of newspapers waiting after a long mission.

There was no car in the drive, but it could be in the garage or she could be driving it somewhere. Her lawn was a little tall but his looked worse.

Daniel opened the door and tentatively stuck his head in. "Sam?" he called as Jack followed him over the threshold.

They quickly searched the house finding nothing out of place or obviously missing; though it was clearly empty.

"Her luggage is still here," Daniel reported, opening the hall closet. He searched upstairs while Jack checked the answering machine. "And so is her toothbrush," he said, coming back down. "Maybe I'm being paranoid, but this isn't right, Jack. Sam wouldn't just disappear like this. Not for this long."

"Daniel. She's a big girl. She can take care of herself," Jack protested weakly. He wasn't crazy about admitting it, but he was starting to get more than a little spooked. Sure he'd annoyed her enough before when she'd disappeared for a few hours or even made herself scarce for a day, but never for this long.

"Excuse me?"

They turned to see a young woman standing just outside the screen door. "Yes. Can I help you?" Jack asked, crossing the room and opening the door.

"I'm Monique. I live next door," she said motioning to the left. "I normally pick up Sam's mail when she's a way. She travels a lot."

"Yeah. She does. We work with her," he said as way of explanation.

"Well I noticed the mail piling up and she didn't tell me she was leaving, but I picked it up anyway and when I saw the door open I thought you were her and…." she trailed off holding out a pile of envelopes.

"She normally tells you when she's leaving?" Daniel asked as Jack took the mail from the woman.

"Usually she does. In fact I'd thought she was planning to be home last weekend, but…well if you work with her you know how often plans change."

"Yeah we sure do. Look thanks for doing this. I'm sure she appreciates it," Jack said, politely dismissing the woman before she could ask too many questions, questions he couldn't answer.

"Oh anytime. Do you know when she'll be back? Kevin, that's my son, he was going to mow our lawn tomorrow…though given the forecast maybe he should do it tonight. Anyway, I know he doesn't mind doing hers at the same time."

"I'm sure she would appreciate that," Jack said with a smile.

Monique left and he stood by the door, watching her cross the lawn.

"Jack?"

"Yeah, I know, Daniel. Now I'm worried. Let's get back to the base."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The drumming of rain followed by a gentle roll of thunder woke Sam. For a second she wondered if she'd drifted off while on watch. Then the hiss and whirr of traffic on the highway reminded her she was very much earth-side.

She opened her eyes, stiffly pushing herself upright. She looked out the window and tried to pick details out of the blackness. It was raining. That's what that sound was. And rain meant water. She stuck her hand out the window and felt the soft patter of drops on her palm. She impatiently waited for a bit to collect then she carefully drew her hand in and eagerly drank. As the rain grew heavier tiny rivulets began to run off the roof of the car, making it easier to drink. She felt for her bottle in the passenger seat but couldn't find it. Perfect. Likely her only chance for a refill and she'd lost it. Murphy certainly was running things lately.

Abandoning the idea of filling the bottle, she settled for just drinking out of her hand. Several minutes later, a bit of her thirst assuaged, she realized that with the rain came cooler temperatures. She wrapped her arms across her chest and tried to pull as far away from the broken windows as her pinned leg would allow.

Feeling distinctly woozy from a combined lack of food and the pain throbbing in her leg, she closed her eyes and counted the days. It was Wednesday, or close to it. Someone had to have missed her by now. Technically she was AWOL as of Monday morning. If they checked they'd know what time she'd left Friday night. Maybe they'd see the tire tracks.

Or maybe not. No one had in the last few days. The undergrowth was thick around the road, allowed to grow to shield the mountain's entrance from the highway.

Dismally, she realized they had no idea where to start looking.

As the thunder grew louder and the wind picked up she realized no one was going to come. Experimentally she moved her trapped leg, biting her lip as pain flared up her thigh.

_Was this how it had been for mom? They'd said she'd died quickly but…had she lain there for a bit, trapped, waiting to die? She'd never asked her dad about the details. Dad. Oh God. Sure he knew her job was dangerous but…for her to die like her mom did?_ She remembered the defeated look on his face after the funeral. His clumsy efforts to transform himself from bread-winner to caregiver all the while burdened by his own grief and guilt. She couldn't do that to him, not again. She had to get out of here. And she'd have to do it herself. In the morning. Right now she was too tired.

She fell into an uneasy sleep; the patter of the rain masking the growing sound of the water as the small stream grew larger and larger.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wednesday

"Sir? We may have a problem," Jack said, taking the offered seat in the general's office.

"What sort of problem, colonel?"

"Sir. As near as we can determine Carter left here about 1930 Friday night…and never made it home."

"You told me she was on leave, Jack."

"I thought she was. When I last saw her Friday I told her to take some time off. Then when she didn't come in on Monday, I just assumed she took the time but…Something's wrong, sir," Jack said earnestly.

George sighed and sat back in his chair, studying the man sitting across from him. The colonel was plainly worried about his friend and teammate. The sort of worry George was all too familiar with. He felt it every time a team walked up that ramp and were hurdled halfway across the known universe. "I'll talk to the local police, see if they can help. Meanwhile, colonel…surely you, Doctor Jackson, and Teal'c have some idea where she would go. Have you checked with her brother?"

"No, sir. I'll do that," Jack said quietly, getting to his feet, a pensive look on his face.

"Jack?" He turned back to the older man. "We'll find her."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wednesday

A violent lurch woke Sam. She opened her eyes and stared in amazement at the water swirling around her legs. Frantically she looked outside. It had stopped raining though it was still overcast and the tiny stream she'd landed in was now a swollen river.

The rain…she vaguely remembered it raining for hours and hours. All that water had to go somewhere. Instead of barely reaching the bottom of the car, the water was now halfway up the door and streaming inside.

As she sat there the car lurched again, moving a few inches then settling. She felt her stomach sink as she recalled an overheard conversation of months ago, how there was a stream that had a habit of flooding. It was fed by runoff from the highway and the whole east face of Cheyenne Mountain. The car moved again and she grabbed the steering wheel to steady herself.

She knew it would be just a matter of time before the car was pushed downstream by the sheer force of the water…and if the water was deeper there, pinned as she was, she'd drown. _Least it'd be faster than slowly dying of exposure like she was now._

With a shake of her head, she banished the fatalistic thought. She had to get out of here.

Trying not to panic she pulled her left leg out of the cold water and placed her sodden boot against the dash. She then braced her hands against the wheel and tried to pull her leg free again. A wave of pain shot up her leg making her pause, gasping.

She looked out the car window and stared in horror at a large log headed her way. It was a bleached skeleton of a long dead tree. The way the car had been lurching she knew its position had to be precarious…and this log just might be enough to push it downstream.

She began to pull harder, adrenaline masking some of the pain as she shot anxious glances at the approaching log.

As it grew closer and closer, spinning a bit in the swirling water, she yanked harder, the fear of drowning outweighing her desire not to tear her leg off.

With a dull thud the log hit the side of her car, buckling the door and causing more water to spill in.

At that same instant her leg popped free and she jerked back, her head hitting the headrest with enough force to make her see stars.  The cold water must have reduced the swelling in her leg enough for it to slide out…or maybe the shock of the log hitting the car had shifted the mangled metal a bit. Either way, it didn't matter. She looked at the rising water. She might not be pinned but she was still in trouble. Big trouble.

With a bulky jerk the rear tires were free and the car spun until the front was facing neatly upstream. Sam watched as the now muddy water crept over the hood, cascading through the broken glass like a mini waterfall. This wasn't good. Even healthy and uninjured there was no way she could swim in that current.

Her eyes darted around, looking for a way out.

A rush of water came down the stream and rolled over the hood. The car moved further downstream and sank a bit, the weight of the additional water outweighing the buoyancy of the tires.

She again grabbed the steering wheel to brace herself and felt the car weave and bob as it began to float.

With a sudden jolt the vehicle stopped and she was thrown forward, hitting her head on the steering wheel, reopening the cut on her head.

Slightly stunned, she looked back. The car had come to rest against a boulder in the middle of the stream. Just then another rush of water came towards her, rocking the car. The water was rising; it wouldn't stay stuck for long.

She looked around again, fighting the panic. There. The branch of a large tree was hanging over the stream. All she had to do was reach it. Simple. She'd done worse in basic training.

She put her arms up and grabbed hold of the window frame. She pulled, pushing with her left leg and dragging her useless right leg behind her until she was sitting in the window of the car.

Bracing herself with her right hand she stretched out her left, trying to reach the branch. It

remained tantalizingly out of reach.

Another rush of water came down the stream rocking the car. Sam grabbed the frame and stuck her left foot into the steering wheel to keep from falling out into the roiling water.

Once the car settled again, she looked. She was now a few inches closer, the wave having moved the car. She glanced at the rear of the vehicle. The force of the water was pivoting the car around the rock. In a few more minutes it would be loose. But as it swung around it just might get her close enough to the branch to grab hold. She studied the rushing water in the morning light. It was cluttered with small branches, leaves and twigs, even an occasional bit of garbage.

The car rocked again and moved a bit closer to the branch. To get close enough to grab the branch and the salvation it offered, the car would have to be almost completely free from the boulder. She figured she'd only have one chance to grab it before the car started moving downstream again, taking her with it.

It pitched again and she extended herself back out the window. She stretched, her fingertips just grazing the rough bark of the branch.

She glanced upstream and saw another log coming towards her, a log big enough to dislodge the car.

Fueled by adrenaline she pushed off with her left leg and lunged for the branch, grabbing it as the log hit the car with a dull thud and spun it away. She cried out as the door frame knocked her leg, almost losing her grip. She hung there and watched the car calmly float downstream. Sparing a glance at the muddy water swirling just inches from her boots she started moving hand over hand until she was over solid ground. She let go and fell to the soggy grass in a crumpled heap.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A bright light flashed across her face, waking her up. She opened her eyes and raised her head. She caught a glimpse of a truck passing. The road. That's right, the road wasn't that far away. Resolutely she pulled her arms under her and pushed herself up. She could make it to the road.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Thanks for doing this," Technician Davis said to Sargent Siler. "I feel so stupid."

"Aah come on, Laura. Everyone runs out of gas," the gregarious Sargent consoled.

"You shouldn't. That's what that little gauge is for," she said frustrated not only at herself but also at Walter. He'd driven the vehicle last; he should have filled it up instead of leaving her a nearly empty tank on the morning she'd overslept, of course. "I feel like such a cliché," she said. The car had sputtered to a stop just off the highway exit to Cheyenne Mountain so she'd only had to walk a little bit before another SGC member had come along and offered her a lift. Luckily, the rain had stopped by then and all she'd had to do was tell the guards at the outer gate that the vehicle was hers so they wouldn't have it towed away.

Fortunately, she'd been able to sweet talk Dan Siler into helping her with a gallon of gas to get her to the nearest service station.

"Look at it this way. It's a beautiful spring day and we don't get out of that mountain near often enough," he replied actually glad to leave the facility and deal with a normal emergency of life instead of the usual fate of the world ones he was used to.

"I guess you're right," she agreed, pushing a strand of black hair out of her face. "Though Walter is going to catch seven shades of hell when I get home…" she trailed off and stopped.

"What?"

"I thought I saw something," she said walking towards the side of the road.

"Saw what?" he asked, following her.

"Something flashed."

He moved forward and frowned. He set down the can of gas and started into the brush.

"Dan?"

"I don't know. Something's there," he replied as the thick branches closed behind him.

Aware that her heels and skirt weren't good for hiking, Laura remained on the road while Siler scrambled down the embankment.

She heard a truck approach and moved closer to the side of the narrow road. "Do you see anything?" she called.

He popped back into view, a look of shock on his face. "Get back to the base. We need med evac now!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack hung up the phone, grimacing at the tone of Mark Carter's voice. He'd never asked her if her brother was younger or older, but he had to be older. The  'what do you mean you've lost my little sister' tone was universal.

He wracked his brains trying to think of where else his second could be. And most definitely didn't like the scenarios he was coming up with. Most of them included the phrase 'foul play'.

Pounding footsteps caught his attention. He looked up to see Daniel skidding to a halt at his office door. "We found her," he said breathlessly.

"What? When? Where? Why didn't you call me?" Jack demanded, shooting to his feet.

"Siler. Just a little bit ago. Her car went off the road and she was pinned in it. And you were on the phone," the archaeologist gasped.

 "Is she ok?" Jack asked, crossing his office.

"She's alive. Infirmary."

Jack hurried past him and they both rushed down the corridor.

The two men met up with Teal'c in the hall outside the infirmary where a nice SF was kindly, but firmly denying them access.

Which is exactly where Janet found them forty-five minutes later.

"Doc?"

"Janet?"

"Doctor Fraiser?"

Janet held up her hands as if to ward the trio off. "She's going to be fine. She's a little banged up and badly dehydrated but basically ok. She's suffering from exposure, has a few bruised ribs, a bit of a concussion and some infected cuts that antibiotics should clear right up," she explained. "Right now what I'm worried about is her leg."

"What's wrong with her leg?"

"It was pinned in the wreckage. From what she told me it was crushed between the console and the steering column. It's very badly bruised but I don't think it's broken. We're going to x-ray it just to be sure."

"Can we see her?" Daniel asked.

"In an bit," Janet replied, happy to be sharing good news.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thursday

Sam woke to the sound of soft snoring. It was an incredibly comforting sound.

She opened her eyes relieved to see the familiar infirmary. So it had been real. For a few terrifying minutes, she'd thought the whole rescue part had been some odd hypothermia induced dream

"Hey?" A gentle hand touched hers, causing her to turn her head to see the concerned face of Daniel. "How do you feel?" he asked softly, she presumed not to wake the colonel who was the source of the snoring.

"Better than I did a few hours ago," she replied, equally as softly.

"Yeah. Well you look better too," he said with a faint smile that quickly faded.

As soon as they'd known she was stable, Daniel had gone with Sargent Siler in search of her car. They'd found it submerged about a half-mile from the road. If she hadn't been able to free herself…the thought of his friend drowning less than a mile away made him faintly ill.

"Thanks…. I think," she said with a smile, pushing herself up in the bed. She gasped and bit her lip as the movement shifted her injured leg.

"Sam?"

"It's ok. It's just sore," she answered, breathing deep.

"Janet said it's not broken, just bruised. And there's a few cuts," he hurried to reassure her, knowing her career rested on her physical fitness.

"You can be glad it's not broken. The major sucks at splints," Jack spoke up, yawning and stretching in the chair. "How ya feeling?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"I'm ok sir. Just a little thirsty." Daniel handed her a glass of water that she eagerly drank.

She handed the empty glass back to him just as Fraiser pulled aside the curtains and entered the 'room'. "I thought you'd be awake by now. How do you feel?" she asked, checking the readings on the machines and the IV feeding fluids and painkillers.

"I'm fine," she repeated, "Just hungry."

"I know someone who can take care of that."

As if on cue Teal'c walked in carrying a tray which contained a bowl of oatmeal, some toast and a glass of cranberry juice. As soon as the aroma hit her nose, Sam's mouth began to water. She'd dreamed of a bowl of hot oatmeal…literally.

Daniel helped her sit up while Jack pushed the table closer. Teal'c set down the tray. She immediately picked up the spoon and had to force herself not to just grab the bowl and gulp it down. She knew if she did that the food would be making a rapid reappearance.

"How did you guys find me? I'm a little fuzzy on that part." Sam asked between spoonfuls.

"Technician Davis' vehicle ran out of fuel. Sergeant Siler was aiding her when she spotted the sun reflecting off of this," Teal'c reported holding out Sam's muddy wristwatch. He had been visiting Doctor Fraiser when the call for help had arrived and had accompanied her. He'd been shocked at what he'd seen. It was truly what the Tau'ri would call a miracle that the technician had been able to see the brief flash of light from the major's watch. Clad in fatigues as she had been and covered in mud she had blended in with the landscape. His only clue to her location had been seeing Sargent Siler kneeling beside her.

As Doctor Fraiser and her staff had worked on his teammate he'd followed her trail trying to discover how she had ended up lying in the brush. He'd seen where she'd dropped from the tree, several hundred yards from where she'd been found. His experienced eyes had seen how she'd tried to walk, then crawl and eventually dragged herself to where she'd been found.

Sam set down her spoon and took the watch, holding it to her ear with scratched fingers. "And it still works," she smiled, munching on the toast.

"Takes a licking and keeps on ticking…unlike your car," Jack said, hiding a grimace. He'd seen what was left of her vehicle. While they'd waited for her to wake up he'd tried to imagine what it had been like…trapped for days with help just a little bit away. That helpless feeling that you're going to die and help is within yelling distance, but unreachable.

He also couldn't help but think that if he hadn't been such a child the whole near tragedy could have been avoided. Carter would have been safely ensconced in his living room, kicking Daniel off the couch and arguing the merits of 'to butter or not to butter' the popcorn instead of spending four hellish days trapped in her car waiting to be rescued…or to die.

"Oh well," she said, fighting a yawn. I was thinking of trading it in anyway." She washed the last of the toast down with the remains of the juice.

Janet finished writing her notes and gave the guys her patented 'find somewhere else to be' look.

"We'll aah…let you get some rest," Jack said, getting the hint. Daniel and Teal'c followed without protest leaving Janet and Sam alone.

"They were really worried you know," Janet said, fussing with the covers.

"I was worried," Sam admitted quietly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sunday

"I can not eat another bite," Sam said, setting down the container of Sesame Chicken.

"You sure? I mean we did order the meal for 12…" Daniel teased.

"And I think you actually ate more than Teal'c for once," Jack said sharing amused looks with Daniel.

"I have a lot of catching up to do," she said, snagging the last Crab Rangoon off the table, carefully leaning over from her position on the couch her leg neatly propped up on pillows.

She'd been more than a little surprised a couple of hours ago when the doorbell had rang with Daniel letting himself in with his key to save her making her way from the living room on her crutches. She'd actually been contemplating calling for some delivery, but then the guys had shown up with unusual perfect timing.

It had been more than a little enjoyable to simply lounge on the couch while being waited on hand and foot. Not something she'd have patience for every day, but it had felt good.

Being alone had never bothered her before but the past week seemed to have used up her solitary quotient for a while. There was something reassuring about having someone around, even if they were in another room.

"Now if they just delivered chocolate fudge cake…" she mused taking a big drink of her soft drink, the pain pills she was taking making alcohol a forbidden item for the time being.

Teal'c smoothly got to his feet and went into the kitchen, returning in a moment with a bag of cookies and a gallon of milk. "It is not cake, yet DanielJackson said this would suffice." He handed Sam the bag of cookies as Daniel got to his feet to get glasses for the milk.

"Oreos…Ooh these are the new chocolate cream ones," Sam said, opening the bag and pulling one out. She bit into the cookie, sending tiny black crumbs down the front of her T-shirt. "Mmm…this is better than cake," she said around a mouthful of cookie. "Dig in guys," she invited. Teal'c passed the cookies around as Daniel poured the milk. "So what's the movie?" she asked, seeing the plastic box on top of the TV but unable to read the title from across the room.

Jack got up and picked it up. "Since you and Daniel love to MST3K movies I though I'd get you an easy one." He slid the tape into the VCR and sat back down, snagging a handful or Oreos on the way.

As the credits began to play they groaned. "Twister? You actually rented Twister?" Daniel asked incredulous.

"I believe O'Neill owns this movie," Teal'c interjected.

"I love this soundtrack. Great cruising music," Sam said as it began. "There. See. There are no thunderstorms when they use that angle…"

"Yeah. But that isn't the bad one…it's when they go through the house…there's just no way…"

Jack shared a look with Teal'c, and then settled back to enjoy the show both on the screen and in front of them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack shut the door behind Daniel and Teal'c and walked back down the hall, trying to be quiet. It was just after ten and both the neighborhood and Sam's house were quiet.

He made his was to the living room and began to straighten things up a bit, deliberately trying not to disturb the sleeping woman on the couch.

He took the empty boxes and glasses to the kitchen and as he jammed the empty bag into the trashcan he noticed it was full. Realizing she'd have a hard time managing the bulky trash bag on crutches, he pulled it out of the can and took it outside, dropping it into the large can by the alley.

He walked back into the house enjoying the refreshing cool night air and the chirping crickets. He locked the door behind him, then rinsed out the milk glasses and set them on the drain board to drip-dry.

As he wiped his hands on the dishtowel a startled cry had him hurrying to the living room. Sam was sitting up on the coach, her eyes wide and her breathing ragged. When she saw him, she closed her eyes for a second, making a visible effort to calm down.

"Bad dream?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

She nodded. "Movie over?"

"Yeah. 'Bout an hour ago. I think you zoned out somewhere around the drive in."

She nodded again, relaxing back onto the arm of the sofa, straightening the quilt hanging on the back of the sofa. "Daniel and Teal'c left?"

"Yep. You know T. If he doesn't get his six hours of meditation he's a bear." Sam chuckled. "Want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "Just an old nightmare."

Jack nodded. "I aah…I wanted to apologize," he said after a minute of silence, sitting on the heavy oak coffee table.

She turned her head to look at him. "Apologize? For what?"

"If I hadn't been such a jerk this whole mess wouldn't have happened."

"Please," she snorted. "If you want to blame someone blame the kamikaze deer."

Jack shook his head. "Not just last Friday. The last few months." He paused for a second. "I aah…you know me, unless it's paperwork or Fraiser's prodding I usually don't avoid stuff but…"

"But you kept hoping it would just work itself out," she interrupted, her fingers worrying the fabric of the quilt.

"Yeah."

"It won't," she said, looking at her hands.

"I know."

"I dreamed I was drowning," she said abruptly after a few uncomfortable minutes.

"Drowning?"

"You ever hear of that old wives tale if you want to teach someone to swim you just throw them in the deep end?"

"Yeah."

"So did Mark. When dad was stationed in Texas, we were at the pool and I guess he was tired of swimming by himself so…he gave me a shove. About all I remember is sitting on the bottom of the pool looking up. I knew I needed to be up there but…I just didn't know how to get there," she finished with a shrug.

"Charlie almost drowned once. Waded into the lake chasing a loon," Jack said, reliving the terror he'd felt seeing that small body floundering in the water.

"It was years before I'd get in anything deeper than a bathtub. In fact it was only after dad told me that astronauts had to know how to swim that I even tried…I don't know what I feel," she said, changing the subject abruptly. "I thought I loved Jonus, but…and Jolinar loved Martouf and maybe a part of me did, but not the way she did and…I've screwed up every relationship I've ever had and…I don't want to screw this up. I…I miss the way things used be…before," she said quietly.

"Yeah. So do I," Jack admitted. "You think we can just…hit a reset switch or something?"

"I'd like that…a lot," she agreed, punctuating her statement with a yawn.

"You should go to bed…and I should go home," he said getting to his feet.

Sam reached to the floor and picked up her crutches, carefully swinging her leg off the pillow it was propped on and stood up.

"You going to be ok getting upstairs?"

"I'll be fine," she reassured him.

"Ok. Then aah…I'll talk to you later."

"Good night, sir."

"Good night, Carter," he said, puling the door shut. She flipped the dead bolt behind him and watched him walk down the walk.

She then turned and shut off the lamp, making her way to the stairs in the dark. She carefully hobbled up the stairs for once feeling a sense of contentment in her empty bed.

One day, when and if the time was right it wouldn't be empty any longer. She just had to be patient.

Fin


End file.
